Introduction
If you’re a business owner, you probably know how important it is to keep your company safe from cyberattacks. But do you know what your employees and partners are doing to protect your data? A security assessment is an action plan for making sure that all of your systems—from the IT infrastructure to software applications—are protected against malware and other cyber threats. Cyber criminals can easily find vulnerabilities in software and exploit those holes in order to steal money or valuable information from companies. By assessing the state of their own security, Organizations can identify potential weaknesses before they become a problem.
What are security assessments?
Security assessment refers to the process of analyzing a system or network in order to identify vulnerabilities and other weaknesses. It’s an important part of Information Systems Management that can help you understand and mitigate risk.
Security assessments are the process of examining a system or network to determine its security posture. A security assessment can range from a simple audit of your Organization’s IT infrastructure to a multi-month, custom-tailored project that addresses every area of risk in your Organization.
Security assessments are used to identify and classify security risks by analyzing the current state of your network, applications, operating system software and hardware configuration as well as data sensitivity. The goal is to put together an actionable plan for mitigating those risks based on your budget, resources and timeline.
A security assessment involves three main steps: vulnerability detection, vulnerability remediation or mitigation, and validation. First you need to find any potential holes in your system; then fix them; finally verify that everything works properly again before moving on to the next phase of action plan implementation.
Different Types of Security Tests.
A security assessment is the process of evaluating your business, its processes and infrastructure to identify any gaps in your security. There are many ways to carry out a security assessment; here are some of the most common types:
- Penetration testing
- Network scanning
- Vulnerability Assessments
- Threat Modeling
- Infrastructure Security Testing.
- Application Security Testing.
Penetration Testing:
Penetration testing is a type of security test that is used to assess the security of an Organization by simulating an attack on the network. Penetration testing, or ethical hacking, attempts to identify weaknesses in the systems and processes used by an Organization. The goal is not to cause damage but rather to highlight potential vulnerabilities so that they can be addressed before real-world attacks occur.
Penetration tests typically involve following a specific methodology which includes reconnaissance, scanning and enumeration followed by exploitation and maintaining access until all objectives are met. Penetration tests will often use tools such as port scanners (such as nmap or AngryIP), vulnerability scanners (such as OpenVAS or Nessus) and web application security scanners (such as BurpSuite) during their execution. However these are not always necessary depending on what task needs to be performed during a penetration test.
Network Scanning:
Network scanning is the process of finding out what devices are on a network. This can be done through a number of methods, including port scans and vulnerability scans.
The goal of network scanning is to help you identify vulnerabilities in your network so that you can patch them before an attacker exploits them. For example, if someone has left their wireless router unsecured and set up with an easily guessable password (like “password”), this would be an easy way for someone to get onto their Local Area Network (LAN) and steal information from other computers on it without even being near them physically.
Vulnerability Assessment:
Vulnerability assessment is the process of identifying weaknesses in a system or network. It involves testing the security of an asset by analyzing its configuration, design and settings. Vulnerability assessments may be performed manually or automatically. Automated vulnerability assessment tools can look at dozens or even hundreds of vulnerabilities at once, making it possible to identify flaws that would take hours to find manually.
The goal of vulnerability assessment is to identify security problems before they become serious issues (e.g., before they compromise data integrity). If a vulnerability has already been exploited by someone outside your Organization but you have not yet discovered it, your data might already be compromised! Vulnerability assessments are critical for ensuring that you have adequate protection against threats before they occur—and not just after the fact.
Threat Modeling:
Threat modeling is a process to identify, analyze, and document the security threats for an application. It helps to identify the most important threats to an application as well as the most important vulnerabilities in an application.
Threat modeling can be done with multiple levels of detail. At a high level, you need only know that you have three different types of threats:
- Attackers who can actively attack your applications directly by exploiting bugs or misconfigurations (these are called “exploit” or “attack” types of threats).
- Users who may accidentally trigger bad behavior within your applications (these are called “human error” type of threats).
- Malware that targets your computers or networks so they can be used by attackers (this is called a “malware” type of threat).
Infrastructure Security Testing:
Infrastructure security testing is a category of penetration testing that focuses on the infrastructure that supports your Organization’s Information Systems, as opposed to the applications themselves. This type of test can detect vulnerabilities in your network and data center design or weaknesses in the physical security of your facility, including:
- Unmonitored devices such as wireless access points, video surveillance cameras and unsecured firewalls and routers.
- Weak or nonexistent password policies for administrative accounts and physical access control badges.
- Inadequate patching regimes for software updates (such as operating system fixes) or antivirus definitions files that protect against new threats.
Application Security Testing:
Application security testing involves the process of identifying vulnerabilities in software applications. It is used to verify whether the application is secure and can be trusted. Application security testing can be used to find out if there are any backdoors or other parts of the code that can be manipulated by unauthorized users, hackers, etc.
This type of software testing focuses on identifying areas where there might be a threat to your personal data or information stored within an application, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
How do I prepare for a security assessment?
So you’ve been tasked with preparing for a security assessment, but you’re not sure where to begin. Don’t worry—we’ve got you covered. You should have a plan before you meet with the auditor. Think about what you want to accomplish during the assessment and have a list of questions ready. This will help keep your meeting focused on what matters most.
First, make sure that the assessment is actually needed. The first step to preparing for a security assessment is to make sure it’s actually needed. It may seem obvious, but sometimes IT departments are so busy that they don’t realize they need an assessment until they’re already in the thick of it.
Next, identify your team members’ strengths and weaknesses. You’ll want everyone on board for this process, so make sure everyone knows what their role is going to be and how they can contribute best. Once you’ve identified your team members’ strengths and weaknesses, it’s time for some training!
Finally, get ready for any questions or concerns from upper management or regulators. They may have questions about the process or concerns about how the report will impact their business—so be prepared!
Why is cyber security assessment important?
The goal of security assessment is to help Organizations develop strategies that reduce their exposure to threats, prevent data breaches, and ensure compliance with regulations like GDPR (the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation). The process should be conducted regularly so that any problems can be identified early on before they become bigger issues.
Security assessment is essential for any Organization that wants to protect its data and remain compliant. It’s a comprehensive process designed to identify security vulnerabilities, provide recommendations and help you implement the right controls. Security assessments are also useful when you want to evaluate your existing security program, or when there’s been a breach in your company’s infrastructure.
Security assessments are necessary because the internet is a dangerous place. Attacks on websites are common; malicious hackers break into systems looking for ways to steal money or sensitive data, while criminals use internet scams (phishing) to trick people into giving up their login credentials and other personal information.
If you want your business or Organization to avoid becoming one of these statistics—or if you want your existing defenses improved so that they’re stronger against threats—you’ll need an expert security assessment performed regularly by someone who knows what they’re doing.
In summary, security assessments are important because:
- It helps you understand the risks to your business.
- It helps you identify security risks and vulnerabilities.
- It helps you understand how well your security controls are working.
- It can help you identify any gaps in your security controls.
- It helps you find ways to improve your security and as a result, it will help you reduce the risk of cyber attacks.
- It can help you prioritize security investments.
- It provides a baseline for measuring your security performance.
Conclusion
Security assessment is a key part of any cyber security strategy. It can help you identify weaknesses in your Organization’s defenses and take steps to improve them. In this post, we’ve outlined what security assessment is, how it works and why it’s important for every Organization that wants to protect itself against attack.
Neumetric offers extensive Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing [VAPT] Services for many different types of assets such as Web Application, Mobile App, Cloud VAPT, etc. Click here to know more about our VAPT Services. We also offer a feature-packed SaaS Application called Auditor that allows you to conduct Security Assessments with ease and make you compliant with the cyber security standards and laws that are applicable to your Organization.
FAQs
What is the purpose of a security assessment?
Security assessment is an evaluation of the security posture of a system or network. Security assessments are performed by professionals who can identify and fix any vulnerabilities that may exist in the system, helping to ensure that it remains secure from hackers.
What are the 3 steps of security risk assessment?
- Identify the assets. In this process, you should identify all of your Organization’s important information and data—from customer information to financial records and IP addresses—and include it in a list of assets.
- Identify the threats facing these assets. Once you have identified all of your Organization’s assets, analyze what could happen if they were exposed to an attack or compromised in some way (e.g., through theft or unauthorized access).
- Determine the vulnerabilities associated with each threat that is assessed as having a high likelihood of occurring based on past records or industry reports/surveys (including those found online).
What are the three stages of a security assessment plan?
The three-step process of a security assessment plan includes:
- Preparation
- Assessment
- Evaluation
Preparation: In this stage, you will be preparing the system or network that is being tested for the security assessment. This can include gathering documentation from other resources, creating documentation yourself, and making sure that it’s all up to date. You will also want to create user accounts for your team members who are doing the testing so that they can access everything they need without having to go through too many steps. Preparation should take place before anything else because it helps ensure that nothing gets overlooked during the rest of the process and saves time in general.
Assessment: The next phase of the security assessment is the actual testing. This can include physical or logical penetration testing, both of which are equally important. You need to test all systems, including servers and databases, as well as their backups. You should also test the network and other components of your infrastructure to ensure that they are secure.
Evaluation: The last step is where you review everything that was found during testing. This helps determine whether or not there were any gaps in security that could have been exploited by an attacker. You should also look at how you could have prevented the attack if it had happened, and what steps you can take to prevent similar attacks in the future.
